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Jun 23, 2013

Wilfred: "Uncertainty"/"Comfort"

By Nico Danilovich

Wilfred began its
third season last night, treating us to two new episodes: “Uncertainty” and
“Comfort”. With smart storytelling and a steady flow of jokes, these episodes
were a delight to watch and both got me excited for the rest of the season to
come.

One of the best things that Wilfred has going for itself as a show is the mysterious
overarching plot about who or what Wilfred really is. However, since this is
the central narrative question of the show, we are unlikely to get any
definitive answers until the show’s final season. “Uncertainty” set out to
emphasize this point and get both Ryan and the audience to a point where they
were willing to accept that.

In the season 2 finale Ryan learned that he had been drawing
pictures of Wilfred since he was a child. After becoming obsessed with
explaining this, Ryan came to the conclusion that most of us have probably
thought since season one: Ryan is mentally ill. Always the devil’s advocate,
Wilfred disagreed with this notion and instead suggested that he was an
immortal being with a bad memory. Determined to prove to himself that he was
simply crazy, Ryan decided to track down Wilfred’s original owner and find
pictures of Wilfred as a puppy (thus proving that he is not immortal).

In line with the theme of uncertainty, the show then
revealed new information to us without actually revealing any real answers. Ryan’s
trip provided him with evidence that could easily support either his or
Wilfred’s theory. In the end, Ryan had to come to terms with the fact that he
was unlikely to figure things out any time soon and should just stop worrying
about them. As a symbolic gesture, he and Wilfred then burned the pictures of
his childhood drawings. It was a nice button on an episode that accomplished
what it set out to accomplish in an entertaining way.

However, the episode wasn’t perfect. After the symbolic
scene of Ryan and Wilfred burning pictures, we were shown a quick clip of
Wilfred burying the original drawing Ryan made as a kid. There isn’t anything
inherently wrong with this, but I have a hard time seeing how the drawing
itself could resurface in the future with any significance. At the moment, this
clip seems more like a cheap trick to add mystery and tension where there
doesn’t need to be any. Furthermore, the climax of the episode had little to do
with the theme at hand; Ryan had to save Wilfred after he accidentally left him
with an “abusive” owner (she takes pictures of dogs dressed up as humans). The
proper elements for a satisfying climax were all there, but it was still an off-topic
climax and thus it came off as a little out of place. Despite these minor flaws,
however, the episode was still a solid installment that provided both laughs
and a satisfying narrative.

Grade: A-

“Comfort” dealt with the theme of—you guessed it—comfort.
Throughout the episode, Jenna attempted to get Ryan to open up about Amanda so
she could comfort him. Not wanting to talk about, Ryan turned instead to the
comfort of his new friend, the mailman, to forget about his problems.
Meanwhile, Wilfred was devastated to learn that death was a permanent
phenomenon and turned to religion for comfort. Even the mailman was forced to
face death and turned to denial for comfort. In the end, Ryan, Wilfred and even
the mailman learned that the only true comfort in life was accepting your
problems and then dealing with them from there.

What this episode gained from most was smart structure. Ryan
being upset was a logical continuation of last season’s major plot points.
Wilfred’s realization about death was a clever mixture of dog jokes and the
already present element of Jenna and Drew having been gone. The mailman’s
crisis in the face of death, while a bit contrived, was never treated with such
seriousness that it seemed too out of place. After introducing the problems
each of these characters faced, the episode then transitioned fairly seamlessly
into an entertaining second act and finally culminated in a climax wherein each
of the three storylines merged.

Wilfred, motivated by his religious fervor and hatred for
mailmen, followed Ryan to the mailman’s house and attempted to exact holy
revenge on the “sinners”. His plan failed, however, and Wilfred lost his faith
in God. Terrified by the sight of a wild dog, the mailman and his friends were
forced to face the terrible truth that their friend had been killed by a
pit-bull. After witnessing both Wilfred and the mailmen move beyond their superficial
methods of comfort, Ryan came to realize that he shouldn’t run from his
problems either, but should instead accept Jenna’s help and her comfort.

Aside from the somewhat contrived backstory of the mailman,
this episode was fairly flawless. The storytelling was tight and the jokes were
solid. Placed next to the more relevant and compelling “Uncertainty,” however,
his episode paled a little in comparison. Ultimately, though, it delivered on
everything you could expect from an average episode of Wilfred and left me wanting more.

Grade: B

Nico Danilovich is a
television enthusiast and amateur filmmaker. His works
can be seen at www.youtube.com/thelazyneighbors